The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

MacBrien home for 90 years Perry High School. James died in 1909. Julia lived in the house until her death in 1938. lacBrien’s most distinguished son was James Howden MacBrien, later to become Major General Sir James MacBrien. He was born in this house in 1878. Upon graduation from Port Perry High School in 1896, he obtained his first job as a bank clerk at the Western Bank in Port Perry. This is now the easternmost section of Brock’s store on Queen Street. He remained at the bank for a year and then, seeking adventure and travel, he signed up to join the North West Mounted Police. When the Boer War broke out in South Africa 4 in October 1899, MacBrien returned to Ontario and joined the 34th Ontario Regiment in Oshawa so that he could be assigned to the African conflict. There he became an officer in the Royal Canadian Dragoons. His major role at that time was to amalgamate the separate divisions of the police in the five western provinces. Another duty was to expand the R.C.M.P. to include coast- al patrol duties in its mandate. This was at a time when rum-runners and others were active during prohibition. This division which MacBrien organized later became the Canadian Coast Guard. Another of hi i tt izati of the R.C.M.P. and by 1936 he had introduced 500 motorized vehicles into the force and reduced the saddle horses from over 1,000 to 226. The Canadian government, recognizing MacBrien’s accomplishments, put forward his name for a knighthood. In June 1935, he was knighted by King George V on the occasion of the monarch’s 70th birthday. During his notable career, he never forgot his roots and frequently came home to Port Perry, at times privately to visit his relatives and sometimes to attend public gatherings. One such event was the dedication of the new Memorial Library in May 1935. On this occasion he flew directly from Ottawa by sea plane and landed on Lake Scugog. MacBrien’s wife Nellie died in 1921. He later married Emily Harbridge of New York. MacBrien’s death came unexpectedly on March 10, 1938, while he was still in office as Commissioner of the R.C.M.P. His mother also died that year. To honour him, an immense and majestic funeral took place in Toronto. His flag-draped coffin, mounted on a horse drawn gun carriage made its way to St. Paul’s Church on Bloor Street and then to Union Station where, in the great hall of the building, a farewell ceremony took place before his remains were transported to Ottawa for a military burial. The house remained in the MacBrien family for 90 years before being sold in 1961. Recent owners include Joseph and Delores Victor who purchased the property in 1989. It was at this time the property was given the name “Heartland”. In October 1993 the historic home was purchased by its present owners are Gail Smith and Diane Matthew who continue to live in this charming home... one of Scugog’s best. Protos By J. PETER HviDSTEN focus@observerpub.ca